Kimberly Holman

Silence is a thread running through all of creation. It even paradoxically exists in noise. In deep contemplation, we listen to this golden silence as an act of total surrender, receiving it like nectar for our soul. From this place of deep listening, this little poem presented itself to me. I hope you enjoy it.

Thoughts But Drops In An Ocean of Love

My own thoughts are but drops in a vast ocean of love.
I listen now to your word echoing in time.
I rest here in this wondrous bounty of Silence.
Just listening.
Just listening.

Who am I?
It is never certain.
Yet here we are together, you and I…
In this Palace of Light.

Full of light
Full of love
Full of joy
Full of eternity.
I listen to the Silence and I am redeemed.

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A WORD ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF LISTENING

All forms of practice eventually move into the formless. Centering Prayer opens in contemplation. Mindfulness Meditation moves into what Buddhism refers to as non-meditation. The practitioner is left with a tricky conundrum.

On the one hand, our work is simply to receive the blessings of pure silence with gratitude and without getting too attached. On the other hand, our work is to effortlessly continue drawing more silence into our being so it can transform us.

Therefore, a valid question we might ask is how exactly do we stabilize contemplation or non-meditation?

I suggest listening. Listening is automatically receptive. Chances are when we’re listening we’re not thinking that much. Like if we listen closely to what our friend is sharing with us, we simply take it all in. Or when we listen to our favorite song, we just receive the vibrations in our ears and feel moved.

I love when a certain kind of synchronicity presents itself. A couple of days after drafting this, I read this.

See that in the moment of noticing the silence around you, you are not thinking.
You are aware, but not thinking.

Eckhart Tolle

When we listen, we’re present and available. That’s why I suggest that listening is a great way to remain open to God in moments of deep contemplation. In other words, when the form of formal practice, be it Centering Prayer or Mindfulness Meditation, just kind of drops away, this might be a very good time to simply listen.

And then this came to me.

Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb the silence.

Pythagoris